#i refer to her as my barista who doesn't take rude customers

[sheyshen]

drawing Beni for the first time so did a quick headshot to try and figure out how I'm gonna draw her before I work on the combat sketch of her >:3

[theorphicangel]

𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬. | 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐨’𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Tags: enemies to lovers, college au, smut, 18+, slow burn,

Synopsis: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single, brooding man in possession of a good future in genetics, must be in want of a girlfriend.

Or at least a fake one to get his family off his back.

(college au & fake dating trope ft my favourite grumpy man who doesn't fall first but ends up falling harder. ouch.)

Taglist: @oharasfilipinawife @palesatan @yougavemeyourheartyouknow @amelialysm @crimin4llyins4ne @strawberryjuice9 @beezusvreeland @faretheeoscar

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chapter 3: war and anything but peace

“Are you still upset by that review?” Lyla prompts, chewing her morning toast loudly in front of you.

You groan aloud in response to her comment, auditory proof that if it wasn’t obvious enough by your body language and mood for the past forty eight hours, yes, you were still pissed.

That bastard almost cost you your job. Your very first job in fact since you had made it to college and he had almost made you lose it.

“I swear if I see him around on campus today, there’s no promise that I’ll stop myself from drop-kicking him.” you warn in a low tone as you peer into the fridge searching for something to eat.

Your shoulders drop in disappointment as the bare white corners of the refrigerators grimly greet you and your hungry stomach, guess you’ll just have to go grocery shopping later.

But for now you think that you can settle on an omelette to satisfy your needs. You take what you need and head over to the counter to prepare your breakfast.

The meeting on customer etiquette wasn’t too bad. Steve was…nice about it in a slightly condescending way. You just wished that you were given a chance to explain yourself from your own perspective, to try and prove that you weren’t actually trying to be rude.

Although, an upside of the meeting was that you’re now being taught on how to use the machines properly in the cafe.

“He almost cost me my job, Ly’.“ you note to your roommate, cracking two eggs into a bowl before whisking.

“Ah see, key word: almost.” She points out gleefully. “From an optimistic point of view, you still have your job right?”

You huff as you whisk, muttering. “Barely.” Your motions fastened quickly, gripping the whisk tightly. The thought of him proudly posting that comment makes you want to rage and you do so, letting your anger out on the current task of whisking eggs.

You groan aloud again, pouring the beaten eggs into the pan. “I just still can’t believe he did that to me. He barely fucking knows me.”

“Mhmm, like you’ve been saying for the past two days.”

“He’s publicly humiliated me, and now the whole campus knows that I’m the shitty barista at the cafe.”

“Not everyone–” Lyla quips up, a light smile drawn over her lips. “No one reads google reviews, if he really wanted to hurt you he’d go on yelp.” she snorts.

“Lyla, that’s not funny.” you deadpan, turning to face her.

She raises her hands, seated at the table. “Okay, okay, it’s not like I’ll give him any ideas, I haven't even met the guy myself.”

“It’s hard to miss him.” you mutter under your breath, specifically referring to his height.

“What was that?” Lyla posed, not hearing your response.

“Nothing, nothing, m’sorry I just…it was really embarrassing having to be talked down to by my manager about not doing my job properly, like it was so condescending. If I mess up one more time, then I thinkI’m gone for good Ly’. Even MJ was surprised to hear me come back.”

“Maybe you should get revenge.” Lyla notes, finishing up the last of her toast.

“What? Like murder him?”

“Woah, woah, hey there missy I wasn’t thinking about going that–“

“I was joking Lyla.”

A silence creeps in between the two of you, the sound of the eggs frying and Lyla’s crunch of toast being the only sounds in the room. As the scent of the omelette rose in the kitchen, you let yourself get carried away by your thoughts. Only a little bit. You know you said that you wouldn’t think about it anymore but you just can’t stop thinking about wrapping your hand around his large, veiny…

“I think you’re burning your omelet.” Lyla interrupts suddenly and as a result forces you to unconsciously squeak out your ongoing thoughts.

“Neck!” you say aloud.

“What?”

“What?” you repeat after her, dazed and confused.

“I said I think you’re burning your breakfast, babe.”

“Oh shit—”

/

Following your public mishap, you’ve returned to work. Eager to start over on a new leaf. MJ shows you all the basic tricks and shortcuts needed for the job which you note step by step in your head.

It goes smoothly, once you clock in. You make sure to smile at every customer, greet them with a cheerful tone, and try hard to put in all of your efforts to make up for what happened last week. So far it looks like no one really knows about the bad review online and you loosen up at the thought.

Lyla was right, you think. You had absolutely nothing to worry about.

MJ agrees too, praising you a few hours into your shift. “You’ve seemed to handle it well. Most people would have crumbled for good after having a talk with Steve.” You nod eagerly at her words, your eyes brightening up slightly.

“Have you thought about what you’ll do if he comes in again?” She asks, referencing back to your crude insult directed at him.

Sure, you had thought about a way to get revenge. In fact you had compiled a list of ways to get him to delete the review, that’s the only way that you’ll truly be able to move on from the situation.

Hesitating, you think about your answer before you speak, choosing from the list of possible methods to convince him.

“I’ll kill him with kindness.” you say, smiling before you hand the next customer a drink.

MJ hums. “And if that doesn’t work?”

“Then I’ll make him regret it.”

That’s all you get the chance to say before the devil himself walks into the cafe. MJ gives you a nudge, signaling you to get back to the till and take his order. This is the first time you’ve seen him since you’ve found out about the review.

Pulling on a fake smile and exaggerating your cheerful tone, you greet the tall and brooding customer in front of you.

“Good morning, what would you like today?” you greet, an eager smile on your face.

Miguel cocks up a brow, peering down at you. You don’t seem bothered in the slightest. He wonders if you’ve even read the comment yet.

“Coffee, milk, no sugar.” His face remains deadpan. You hum lightly, tapping his order into the till. You watch him pay, swiping his card without a second glance.

“I’ll bring it right over for you.”

MJ prepares his order for him whilst you get through the rest of the queue.

Just like before, you walk over to his table, isolated from the rest of the people in the cafe. You figure that he’s a loner in general and judging by his behavior, it’s not hard to see why.

“The nerve that you have.” you murmur, practically placing down his coffee with aggression. So much so that the hot liquid overspills on the table.

“Excuse me?” He frowns, his brows furrowed deeply, creating a crease.

Awh. He’s playing innocent.

“Your review. I saw it.”

He takes a moment before speaking again, his frown now switching back to a sort of smug face.“I was wondering if you saw that.” He mumbles. “What’d you think about it?”

That smile. That goddamn smile. You think you picked up his eyes lighting up just as the pure mention of the review. What a sadistic man.

You hold back a smirk as his eyes meet yours. They’re playful, teasing. He barely knows who you are yet plays into the temptation of learning how to push your buttons.

You batter your eyelashes on purpose, remembering to stick to your method of kindness.

“Anything else I can get for you, Miguel?”

His name slips easily from your mouth in a sultry tone. You weren’t really expecting that to come out of you and judging by the way that Miguel’s eyes widened slightly, you think that he wasn’t expecting it either. He sort of likes the way you make his name sound like that.

“Nope I’m good for now, nena. Pretty good service today, maybe last week was a fluke.”

“Maybe it was.” you say and suddenly your hopes are raised. Here’s your chance.

“Perhaps my service is good enough to take down the review now?” you propose, a smile printed across your face falsely. You take out a tissue from the metal box on his table and lean down to wipe away the split remnants of his coffee.

Your face is so close to his, you can practically feel his eyes bore into your skull as you wipe his table clean.

Miguel is so focused on you that he doesn’t even notice the words slipping from his lips. “I’ll think about it.”

“Really?” You glance up, now eye-level with him as you’re half bent over the table. Miguel leans closer to you, his face just a few centimeters away from yours. Your stomach fills with anxiety and apprehension but you’re not really sure why. His eyes never leave yours and you’re fighting every single muscle in your body to keep your own latched onto his own brown and intimidating eyes.

Miguel hums lowly, his voice low and rough as he whispers. “But you’re gonna have to try better than that if you want the review taken down, nena. I can practically smell the desperation from you. It’s…sad.”

Right there and then you swore that you have never wanted to kick a guy in the balls. His cocky attitude, the way that he looks down at you when he stands from his table,

You take a deep breath, shutting your eyes. You stand up fully, crumpling the paper tissue in your hand. “Fine. Keep your stupid review.”

“What?”

“Keep it up. You’ll regret it.”

Miguel snorts, clearly judging you. “Should I be scared?”

“I dunno’…should you?” you say, tilting your head. This time you’re not afraid to keep eye contact with him. He doesn't scare you and you shouldn't let him know how intimidated you are by him.

The two of you observe each other for a few seconds, waiting to see who’ll back down first. Your fists are clenched by your sides, your body and mind screaming at you to look away.

And unfortunately, you give in to your natural instincts.

Miguel opens his mouth to say something to you, probably something to tease you even more until his phone buzzes in his pocket. He immediately pulls it out and reads an incoming message that’s popped up on his home screen.

That frown that you once saw at the beginning of the conversation had now returned. This time his expression seemed a little more…unsettled.

“I gotta go.” He says abruptly, before downing his latte. Your eyes can't help but notice the way that his Adam apple moves as he drinks the beverage, causing the uneasy tension to return back to your stomach… again.

“You should get back to work.” He mutters, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Don’t keep the queue waiting because then you’ll actually start living up to the review y’know?”

You’re quick to open your mouth to voice back a quick-witted reply when MJ calls out your name. You turn back to see her glancing over at you from the coffee machines.

“Hey! A little help here?”

Your shoulders sag at the thought of leaving your task unaccomplished. Shuffling away from his table, you move back to your station, entirely missing the way that Miguel turns back to look at you before he leaves.

Looks like he wins this one.

For now.

You - Nil

Miguel - 1

lmk if you would like to be tagged! tysm for reading <3

[fantasyfantasygames]

Shop Talk

Shop Talk: a game about being trapped, Seshi Gupta, 2021

Shop Talk is a solo journaling game about being a shopkeep trying to avoid creepy suitors. Potential content warnings here - nothing in the game as written crosses lines, but it's very realistic in depicting problematic situations.

Gupta herself had an interview about Shop Talk during the pandemic:

"So there I am in 2018, young, just out of college, working at some random shop in San Francisco. And these guys keep coming in. Friendly. And they want to talk. "So for the first week I'm like 'Sure, you know, maybe I can sell them something,' so I talk to them. And it always ends with some sort of proposition. Dinner, or a movie, or sometimes they'd be, you know, really rude. I'm like 'Look, I'm just here to sell watches or paper or whatever, I'm not here so you can hit on me.' "I told my friends later, they said 'Oh yeah that's the job. Serve coffee and put up with guys who have you trapped and know you can't leave.' I'm like 'Wait all of you?' and yes, every single one of them. All of them. And it stuck in my head. Eventually I wrote a game about it, so maybe someone will find out what it was like."

Shop Talk doesn't specify a setting. It could be the modern day, or it feels like it could also be a Miyazaki-esque eternal mid-20th-century scenario. It provides you with some scenarios to write your way through. Each one starts with a job description - not the one that was on paper when the shopkeep was hired, but the things her boss expects her to do if she doesn't want to get fired. Here's a sample one for a barista:

Smile at every customer when they come in. Take their order with courtesy. Apologize when we're out of something. Smile when you hand them the receipt. When you're not busy, clean the place up or prep for the rush. Thank people if they help you but don't ask them to help you. Answer the phone but don't stay on it for more than a minute. You get two 15-minute breaks and a half-hour lunch. If I'm here I'm doing paperwork, don't call me out there except during your break.

Unlike some journaling games, where you're more literally writing in your journal, this one asks you more to write a description of the scenario with no internal monologues. No references to the emotional or mental states of the characters. You're given motivations for the customers, but you write down just pure, observable, verifiable facts.

The prompts that it gives are things like...

Does she get a phone call? What does he do while she takes it?

Does she smile at this customer? Does he say something about it?

How often does he come? How long does he stay?

What parts of her does he look at?

Does he wink at her?

Does he talk to her when there are other people or only when they are alone?

Does he show up when her shift is over?

Is her boss present in this scene? Does he ask about her boss and whether they'll be here today?

...just very straightforwardly addressing the job description, but also directly addressing points of potential danger or threat. When you read it afterward you get a pretty solid sense that things are awkward at best and feel dangerous at worst.

Gupta put the game up on itch, then took it down, then put it up again, and has said that she feels nervous about having published it because of potential backlash. I think that says as much about the situation she was in as the game itself does.